Petition for Modification
In the matter of
Brushy Creek Coal Company
Brushy Creek Mine
I.D. No. 11-02636
Docket No. M-2001-020-C
30 CFR 75.364(b)(4)
PROPOSED DECISION AND ORDER
On February 21, 2001, Brushy Creek Coal Company, filed a petition seeking a modification of the application of 30 CFR 75.364(b)(4) to its Brushy Creek Mine, located in Saline County, Illinois. The Petitioner alleges that the alternative method outlined in the petition will at all times guarantee no less than the same measure of protection afforded by the standard. The Petitioner also alleges that application of the standard will result in a diminution of safety.
MSHA personnel conducted an investigation of the petition and filed a report of their findings and recommendations with the Administrator for Coal Mine Safety and Health. After a careful review of the entire record, including the petition, MSHA's investigative report and recommendations, this Proposed Decision and Order is issued.
Finding of Fact and Conclusion of Law
The petition filed by Brushy Creek Coal Company involves a vertical shaft which will be used to ventilate mine workings planned in the Illinois Number 5 Seam. The mine was developed by one slope and the shaft. The shaft is split by a partition and is used for both intake and return ventilation. Mining off the same shaft, in the Number 6 Seam, was completed in 1999. The Number 6 Seam overlies the Number 5 Seam by approximately 100 feet. The seals, used to separate the abandoned Number 6 Seam workings from the air courses passing through the shaft, are the subject of this petition.
The standard, 30 CFR 75.364(b)(4), requires that seals along return air courses be examined during the weekly examinations. The Petitioner alleges that the location of the seals within the shaft would require the examiner to climb a ladder and would be a diminution of safety. Because other safe methods of reaching the area are available, such as by stairs with landings, the Agency finds that the application of the standard would not result in a diminution of safety.
As an alternative method of achieving the result of the standard, the Petitioner proposes isolating the shaft interior from the Number 6 Seam workings by a Micon seal constructed a minimum of two feet thick. Additionally, at least six feet of reinforced concrete, constructed as an integral part of the shaft lining, would provide separation. Water levels within the Number 6 Seam workings, along with gases in the sealed area, can be monitored from the adjacent slope seals, located approximately 250 feet from the shaft. The Petitioner alleges that the massive double seals, together with gas and water monitoring at the adjacent slope seals, is an alternative method which achieves the result of the standard. The investigation report indicates that the conditions and substantive facts stated in the petition are correct.
The alternative method proposed by the Petitioner (as amended by the recommendations of MSHA) will at all times guarantee no less than the same measure of protection afforded the miners under 30 CFR 75.364(b)(4).
On the basis of the petition and the findings of MSHA's investigation, Brushy Creek Coal Company is granted a modification of the application of 30 CFR 75.364(b)(4) to its Brushy Creek Mine.
ORDER
Wherefore, pursuant to the authority delegated by the Secretary of Labor to the Administrator for Coal Mine Safety and Health, and pursuant to Section 101(c) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C., sec. 811(c), it is ordered that Brushy Creek Coal Company's Petition for Modification of the application of 30 CFR 75.364(b)(4) in the Brushy Creek Mine is hereby:
GRANTED, to allow evaluation of the Number 6 Seam seals off the shaft, conditioned upon compliance with the following terms and conditions:
1. The Number 6 Seam workings off the split airshaft shall be sealed by a minimum two-foot thick Micon seal and by the shaft lining which shall be constructed of steel reinforced concrete at least six-feet thick. The construction of seals shall be as specified in the petition's attached drawing No. A1116-01 and the concrete seal detail drawing dated May 3, 2001, attached to the investigation report.
2. A preshift examination shall be conducted at the nearby Number 6 Seam seals off the slope.
3. A weekly examination shall be conducted at a location near the shaft bottom on the return air side of the shaft which is approved by the District Manager and shown on the mine map. Also, a weekly examination for oxygen and methane content shall be conducted in the undiluted return air immediately inby the main mine fan.
Any party to this action desiring a hearing on this matter must file in accordance with 30 CFR 44.14, within 30 days. The request for hearing must be filed with the Administrator for Coal Mine Safety and Health, 4015 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22203.
If a hearing is requested, the request shall contain a concise summary of position on the issues of fact or law desired to be raised by the party requesting the hearing, including specific objections to the proposed decision. A party other than Petitioner who has requested a hearing shall also comment upon all issues of fact or law presented in the petition, and any party to this action requesting a hearing may indicate a desired hearing site. If no request for a hearing is filed within 30 days after service thereof, the Decision and Order will become final and must be posted by the operator on the mine bulletin board at the mine.
____________________________________________
Michael J. Lawless
Deputy Administrator
for Coal Mine Safety and Health